Earlier this week, a photo ostensibly taken of a crafting screen in Dead Space 3 revealed what appeared to be the option to purchasing crafting resources through microtransactions. In an interview with CVG , Visceral Producer John Calhoun acknowledged the existence of microtransactions in the game, and said the inclusion of a quick-buy option is meant for players who "need instant gratification" instead of procuring materials on their own.

"There's a lot of players out there, especially players coming from mobile games, who are accustomed to microtransactions," Calhoun explained. "They're like, 'I need this now, I want this now.' They need instant gratification. So, we included that option in order to attract those players, so that if they're 5000 Tungsten short of this upgrade, they can have it."

According to Calhoun, traditional Dead Space players used to squishing Necromorph brains under heel for materials won't diminish in importance. "Honestly, most of the dev team are that way; we're kind of old school, a little bit older," he said. "So, not only are the microtransactions completely optional, but all packs are available to purchase using in-game resources you find."

Calhoun also responded to complaints over the addition of buyable items to the Dead Space franchise, stressing Visceral would "never" incorporate a pay-to-win system. "There are genres of games where that is the answer, and you know what? The world has spoken: they suck," he said. "We don't want to make games that suck, we want to make games that people want to hold on to and to keep on their shelves. That is our mark of success."

Dead Space 3 comes out of the vacuum on February 5. Until then, you can check out our preview , where we descend into the darkness to explore the game's co-op.